Azrael
angel in some Abrahamic religions; often identified with the angel of death
Azrael (; Hebrew: עֲזַרְאֵל, romanized: ʿǍzarʾēl, lit. 'God has helped'; Arabic: عزرائيل, romanized: ʿAzrāʾīl or ʿIzrāʾīl) is the canonical angel of death in Islam. An Angel with a similar name appears in the 16th century Classical Ethiopic version of Apocalypse of Peter, but as an angel of hell who avenges those who had been wronged during life.
Relative to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael holds a benevolent role as God's angel of death; he acts as a psychopomp, responsible for transporting the souls of the deceased after their death. In Islam, he is said to hold a scroll concerning the fate of mortals, recording and erasing their names at their birth and death, similar to the role of the malakh ha-mavet (Angel of Death) in Judaism.
Depending on the perspective and precepts of the various religions in which he is a figure, he may also be portrayed as a resident of the Third Heaven, a division of heaven in Judaism and Islam. In Islam, he is one of the four archangels, and is identified with the Quranic Malak al-Mawt (ملك الموت, 'Angel of Death'), which corresponds with the Hebrew term Malʾakh ha-Maweth (מלאך המוות) in Rabbinic literature. In Hebrew, Azrael translates to 'Angel of God' or 'Help from God'.
Etymology and place in Judaism
The Hebrew Bible does not mention an angel by the name Azrael, nor does it appear in the rabbinic literature of the Talmud or Midrashim. No such angel is treated as canonical in traditional Rabbinic Judaism. However, an angel by a similar name, Azriel (עזריאל), is mentioned in Kabbalistic literature such as the Zohar.
The public source identifies “Azrael” as angel in some Abrahamic religions; often identified with the angel of death. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Azrael, angel and some.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q490838. VIAF identifies the subject as 44148631419130412012. The Library of Congress control number is no2017011565. None of the 4 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Azrael” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.